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CRIM 1 - INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY.

MODULES AND NOTES

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CRIM. 1: INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMES


CRIMINOLOGY

According to Edwin H. Sutherland …


- “Criminology is the entire body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon.

-It includes within its scope the process of making of laws , of breaking of laws , and the
society’s reaction towards the breaking of laws.”

Criminology is a body of knowledge regarding crimes, criminals and the efforts of society to
prevent and repress them.
 the scientific study of the causes of crime in relation to man and society who set and
define rules and regulations for himself and others to govern

Criminologist (R. 6506) - any person who is a graduate of the Degree of Criminology, who
has passed the examination for criminologists and is registered as such by the Board of
Examiners of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Origin of the word “Criminology”

Etymologically, the term criminology came from the Latin word “crimen” meaning
crime and Greek word “Logos” which means “to study”.

 In 1885, Rafael Garofalo , an Italian Law Professor coined the term criminologia.
 In 1889, Paul Topinard , French Anthropologist, used the term criminology in
French criminologie for the first time

PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF CRIMINOLOGY


1. Etiology of Crimes – the scientific analysis of the causes of crimes and the
criminal behavior.
2. Sociology of Law – refers to the investigation of the nature of criminal law and its
administration
3. Penology – the study of the control of crimes and the rehabilitation of offender

IS CRIMINOLOGY A SCIENCE?
According to George Wilker, criminology cannot become a science because it has
not yet acquired universal validity.
Edwin H. Sutherland, the Dean of Modern Criminology, hoped that it will become a science in
the future since the causes of crimes are almost the same which may be biological,
environmental or combination of the two.

NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY
 It is applied science because criminology as a body of knowledge has already
established universally accepted principles and concepts and these are used by other
field of study. (INSTRUMENTATION)
 2. It is a social science because it studies crime as a social phenomenon. Crime is a
social problem which has a great impact to society.
 3. It is dynamic because the concepts of criminology and their applications adapt to the
changing time.
 4. It is nationalistic because the study of criminology takes into consideration the
history, the culture and the social norms and the laws of the country. Each country has
its own set of laws and crimes are defined by the laws of the country.

SCOPE IN THE STUDY OF CRIMINOLOGY


1. Study of the origin and development of criminal law
2. Study of the causes of crimes and development of criminals
3. Study of the other sciences that examine criminal behavior using scientific methods such
as:
 Criminal Demography – the study of the relationship between criminality and
population
 Criminal Epidemiology – the study of the relationship between environment and
criminality
 Criminal Ecology – the study of criminality in relation to the spatial distribution in a
community
 Criminal Physical Anthropology – the study of criminality in relation to physical
constitution of men
 Criminal Psychology – the study of human behavior in relation to criminality
 Criminal Psychiatry – the study of human mind in relation to criminality
 Victimology – the study of the role of the victim in the commission of a crime

CRIMES AND CRIMINALS

CRIME
- refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of public law (Phil. Law Dictionary).
- also refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or
commanding it (Reyes 2006).
CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

LEGAL CLASSIFICATIONS:
1. According to law violated
a. Felony – an act or omission punishable by law which is committed by means
of dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault) and punishable under the Revised Penal Code
b. Offense – an act or omission in violation of a special law
c. Infraction – an act or omission in violation of a city or municipal ordinance

2. According to the manner of committing crime:


a. By means of dolo or deceit - if the crime is committed with deliberate intent.
Thus, it is called intentional felonies.
 freedom or voluntariness -

 intelligence
 intent
b. By means of culpa or fault
- Felonies committed by means of culpa (fault)

3.the act or omission of the offender is not


malicious and the injury caused by the
offender is
4.unintentional, it being the simply the incident
of another act performed without malice
5.the act or omission of the offender is not
malicious and the injury caused by the
offender is
6.unintentional, it being the simply the incident
of another act performed without malice
7.the act or omission of the offender is not
malicious and the injury caused by the
offender is
8.unintentional, it being the simply the incident
of another act performed without malice
- an act or omission of the offender is not malicious and the injury
caused by the offender is unintentional, it being simply the incident of
another act performed without malice
 lack of foresight
 lack of skill
 negligence
 imprudence

3. According to the stages in the commission:


a. Attempted – the crime is attempted when the offender commences the
commission of a felony directly or over acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution
which should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than this own
spontaneous desistance.
b. Frustrated - when the offender performs all the acts of execution which would
produce the felony as a consequence but which, nevertheless do not produce it by reason of
causes independent of the will of the perpetrator.
c. Consummated - when all the elements necessary for its accomplishment and
execution are present

4. According to plurality:
a. Simple Crime – is a single act constituting only one offense.
b. Complex Crime – single act constituting two or more grave felonies or an is a
necessary means for committing the other

Two (2) Kinds of Complex Crime:


1. compound crime (delito compuesto)
2. complex crime proper (delito complejo)

5. According to gravity:
a. Grave felonies - are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or
penalties which in any of their period are afflictive.
b. Less grave felonies - are those which the law punishes with penalties which in
their maximum period are correctional.
c. Light Felonies – infraction of laws for the commission of which the penalty of
arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both is provided.

6. According to Nature of the Act


a. Crimes mala in se – acts that are inherently evil (e.g. murder, robbery, etc.)
b. Crimes mala prohibita – acts which are prohibited only because there are laws
forbidding such acts. (e.g. illegal possession of firearms, traffic violations, etc.)
CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIME
1. According to the result of the crime:
a. Acquisitive crime – if the offender acquired of gained something by committing
the crime (e.g. robbery, estafa, bribery, etc.)
b. Destructive crime – if the crime resulted to destruction, damage or even death
(e.g. arson, murder and homicide, damage to property, etc.)

2. According to the time or period of commission:


a. Seasonal crime – crimes that happen only during a particular season or period
of a year. (e.g. violation of election law, tax violations, etc.)
b. Situational crime - crimes committed when the situation is conductive to the
commission of the crime and there is an opportunity to commit it. (e.g.
pickpocketing, theft, etc.)

3. According to the length of the commission:


a. Instant crimes – crimes that can be committed in a very short time. (e.g. theft, )
b. Episodal crimes – crimes committed through series of acts or episodes and in
much longer time.
4. According to the length of the commission:
a. Ordinary criminal – a criminal who engages in crimes which do not require specialized
or technical skill
b. Organized criminal – is one who possesses some skills and know-how which enable
him to commit crimes and evade detection.
c. Professional criminal – a highly skilled criminals which are engaged in a large scale
criminal activities ad usually operate in groups.

3. According to criminal activities:


a. Professional criminal – a criminal who earns his living through criminal activities.
b. Situational criminal – a person who got involved in criminal act because the situation
presented itself.
c. Habitual criminal – one who repeatedly commits criminal act for different reasons.
d. Accidental criminal – a person who accidentally violated the law due to some
circumstances.

STUDY OF CRIMINAL LAW EVOLUTION OF CRIMINAL LAWS

A) PREHISTORIC CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Primitive Tribes
 punishment may be in the form of ostracism and expulsion
 adultery may be punished by the aggrieved husband who may kill the adulterer and his
own offending wife
 crime may be avenged by the victim himself or by the victim’s family
B) THE EARLY CODES

1) CODE OF HAMMURABI
- Hammurabi, the king of Babylon during the eighteenth century BC, is recognized as the
first codifier of laws
- it provides the first comprehensive view of the laws in the early days
- the Code was carved in stone - the “law of talion”, or the principle of “tit for tat”,(an eye for
an eye, tooth for a tooth) appears throughout the Code
- under the principle of the law of talion, the punishment should be the same as the harm
inflicted on the victim
2) THE HITTITES - the Hittites existed about two centuries after Hammurabi and
eventually conquered Babylon

3) CODE OF DRAKON - knows as the “ultimate in severity”


- codified by Drakon, the Athenian lawgiver of the seventh century BC

4) LAWS OF SOLON - Solon was appointed archon and was given legislative powers - Solon
repealed all the laws of the Code of Drakon, except the law on homicide - Solon was one of
the first to see that a lawgiver had to make laws that applied equally to all citizens and also
saw that the law of punishment had to maintain proportionality to the crimes committed

5) ROME’S TWELVE TABLES - Roman law began with the Twelve Tables which were
written in the middle of the sixth century BC
 the Twelve Tables were the foundation of all laws in Rome and written in tablets of bronze
 the Twelve Tables were drafted by the Decemvirs, a body of men composed of patricians

CRIMINAL LAW - is that branch of public law which defines crimes treats of their nature
and provides for their punishment.

Revised Penal Code or Act No. 3815

 book that contains the Philippine Criminal Law and different special laws and decrees
which are penal in nature. It is called as RPC because the old penal code which took effect
in the country on July 14, 1887 and was in force until Dec. 31, 1931 was revised by the
Committee created by Administrative Order No. 94 of the Department of Justice, dated Oct.
18, 1927, composed of Anacleto Diaz as Chairman, Alex Reyes and Mariano de Joya as
members RPC was approved on Dec. 8, 1930 and took effect on January 1, 1932.

Principal Parts of the RPC It is composed of two books; book one which is composed of
Articles 1-113 and book two covering Articles 114-367. a. Articles 1-20 – principles
affecting criminal liability b. Articles 21-113 – penalties including criminal and civil liability
c. Articles 114-367 – felonies
Characteristics of the RPC

1. Generality – the law is applicable to all persons within the territory irrespective of sex,
race, nationality or civil status except:
a. Head of state
b. Foreign diplomats, ambassadors, who are duly accredited to our country c.
Foreign troops permitted to march within the territory

2. Territoriality
- the RPC is applicable to felonies committed within the Philippine territorial
jurisdiction.
a. Philippine archipelago
– all the islands that comprise the Philippines
b. Atmosphere water
– all bodies of water that connect all the islands such as bays, rivers and streams
c. Maritime zone
– the twelve (12) Nautical Mile limit beyond our shore measured at low tide

EXCEPTIONS TO THE TERRITORIAL CHARACTER OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE:

The Revised Penal Code shall be applicable to all cases committed outside the Philippine
territorial jurisdiction under the following circumstances:
a) should commit an offense while on Philippine ship or airship;
b) should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Island or
obligations and securities issued by the government of the Philippines;
c) while being a public officer or employee, should commit an offense in the exercise of
their functions’
d) should commit any of the crimes against national security and law of nations

3. Prospectivity - the provisions of the RPC cannot be applied if the act is not yet punishable
on the time the felony was committed. However, it may have a retroactive effect if it is
favorable to the accused who is not a habitual delinquent.
4. It is specific and definite. Criminal law must give a strict definition of a specific act
which constitutes an offense. Where there is doubt as to whether a definition embodied in
the Revised Penal Code applies to the accused or not, the judge is obligated to decide the
case in favor of the accused. Criminal law must be construed liberally in favor of the accused
and strictly against the state.

5. It is uniform in application. An act described as a crime is a crime no matter who


committed it, wherever committed in the Philippines and whenever committed. No
exceptions must be made as to the criminal liability. The definition of crimes together with
the corresponding punishment must be uniformly construed, although there may be a
difference in the enforcement of a given specific provision of the penal law.

5. There must be a penal sanction or punishment.


6. Penal sanction is the most essential part of the definition of the crime. If there is no
penalty to a prohibited act, its enforcement will almost be impossible. The penalty is
acting as a deterrence and as
9. Capital punishment is inefficacious and its place should be substituted life imprisonment.
10. It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. That is the chief purpose of all good
legislation.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) - his contribution to classical school of criminology is the
concept of utilitarianism and the felicific calculus. - proposed “Utilitarian Hedonism” which
explains that person always acts in such a way to seek pleasure and avoid pain. - founded
the concept of UTILITARIANISM – assumes that all our actions are calculated in accordance
with their likelihood of bringing pleasure and pain - devised the pseudo-mathematical
formula called “felicific calculus” which states that individuals are human calculators who
put all the factors into an equation in order to decide whether a particular crime is worth
committing or not - he reasoned that in order to deter individuals from committing crimes,
the punishment, or pain, must be greater than the satisfaction, or pleasure, he would gain
from committing the crime
Utilitarianism - is a philosophy which argues that what is right is the one that would cause
the greatest good for the greatest number of people. - others refer to it as the greatest
happiness principle or the principle of utility. - from this principle, Bentham formulated the
“ felicific calculus ”.
Felicific Calculus or the pleasure-and-pain principle – is a theory that proposes that
individuals calculate the consequences of his actions by weighing the pleasure (gain) and
the pain (suffering) he would derive from doing the action.
3. NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
This theory modified the doctrine of free will by stating that free will of men may be
affected by other factors and crime is committed due to some compelling reasons that
prevail. These causes are pathology, incompetence, insanity or any condition that will make it
impossible for the individual to exercise free will entirely. In the study of legal provisions, this
is termed as either mitigating or exempting circumstances.
4. POSITIVIST SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY - The term “positivism” , refers to a method of
analysis based on the collection of observable scientific facts. - Positivists believe that
causes of behavior can be measured and observed. - It demands for facts and scientific
proof, thus, changing the study of crimes and criminals into scientific approach. - Positive
theorists were the first to claim the importance of looking at individual difference among
criminals. These theorists who concentrated on the individual structures of a person, stated
that people are passive and controlled, whose behaviors are imposed upon them by
biological and environmental factors.
August Comte - was a French philosopher and sociologist and is believed to be the one
who reinvented the French term sociologie. - he was recognized as the “Father of Sociology
and Positivism”.

THE (UN) HOLY THREE (3) OF CRIMINOLOGY


1. Cesare Lombroso
2. Enricco Ferri
3. Raffaelle Garofalo
Cesare Lombroso
- recognized as the “Father of Modern and Empirical Criminology ” due to his application of
modern scientific methods to trace criminal behavior,
- however, most of his ideas are now discredited
- known for the concept of atavistic stigmata (the physical features of creatures at an
earlier stage of development).
- he claimed that criminals are distinguishable from non-criminals due to the presence of
atavistic stigmata and crimes committed by those who are born with certain recognizable
heredity traits.
- according to his theory, criminals are usually in possession of huge jaws and strong
canine teeth, the arm span of criminals is often greater than their height, just like that of
apes who use their forearms to push themselves along the ground.
- other physical stigmata include deviation in head size and shape, asymmetry of the face,
excessive dimensions of the jaw and cheekbones, eye defects and peculiarities, ears of
unusual size, nose twisted, upturned or flattened in thieves, or aquiline or beaklike in
murderers, fleshy lips, swollen and protruding, and pouches in the cheek like those of
animal’s toes
- Lombroso’s work supported the idea that the criminal was a biologically and physically
inferior person

- according to him, there are three (3) classes of criminals:


a. born criminals – individuals with at least five (5) atavistic stigmata
b. insane criminals – those who became criminals because of some brain defect which
affected their ability to understand and differentiate what is right from what is wrong.
c. criminaloids - those with makeup of an ambiguous group that includes habitual
criminals, criminals by passion and other diverse types

Enricco Ferri
- he focused his study on the influences of psychological factors and sociological
factors such as economics, on crimes.
- He believed that criminals could not be held morally responsible because they did not
choose to commit crimes, but rather were driven to commit crimes by conditions in their
lives.

Raffaelle Garofallo - He treated the roots of the criminals’ behavior not to physical
features but to their psychology equivalent, which he referred to as moral anomalies. - He
rejected the doctrine of freewill.
- Classified criminals as Murderers, Violent Criminals, Deficient Criminals, and Lascivious
Criminals.

THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION


1. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES - this refers to the set of theories that point to physical,
physiological and other natural factors as the causes for the commission of crimes of
certain individuals. - This explanation for the existence of criminal traits associates
an individual’s evil disposition to physical disfigurement or impairment.
a. Physiognomy – the study of facial features and their relation to human behavior.

1. Giambiatista dela Porta


- founder of human physiognomy
- according to him criminal behavior may be predicted based on facial features of the
person.

2. Johann Kaspar Lavater - supported the belief of dela Porta - he believed that a person’s
character is revealed through his facial characteristics.
c. Phrenology, Craniology or Cranioscopy
– the study of the external formation of the skull in relation to the person’s
personality and tendencies toward criminal behavior.
- according to him, criminality is caused by the imbalance of the three (3) components of
personality:
id, ego, superego.
according to him there are three parts of personality:_
1. ID – this stands for instinctual drives; it is governed by the “pleasure principle”; the id
impulses are not social and must be repressed or adapted so that they may become socially
acceptable

2 EGO– this is considered to be the sensible and responsible part of an individual’s personality
and is governed by the “reality principle”; it is developed early in life and compensates for the
demands of the id by helping the individual guide his actions to remain within the boundaries
of accepted social behavior; it is the objective, rational part of the personality

3 . SUPEREGO – serves as the moral conscience of an individual; it is structured by what values


were taught by the parents, the school and the community, as well as belief in God; it is largely
responsible for making a person follow the moral codes of society
2. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES - sociological factors refer to things, places and people with
whom we come in contact with and which play a part in determining our actions and
conduct. These causes may bring about the development of criminal behavior.

a. Emile Durkheim - he stated that crime is a normal part of the society just like birth
and death. - proposed the concept of “anomie” or the absence of social norms. It is
characterized by disorder due to lack of common values shared by individuals, lack
of respect for authority and lack of appreciation for what is acceptable and not
acceptable in a society.

b. Gabriel Tarde

- introduced the theory of imitation which proposes the process by which people
become criminals.
- according to this theory, individuals imitate the behavior of other individuals
based on the degree of their association with other individuals and it is inferior or
weak who tend to imitate the superior and strong.

c. Adolphe Quetelet and Andre Michael Guerry


- He repudiated the free will doctrine of the classicists
- founder of cartographic school of criminology.
- founder of moral statistics. - cartographic school of criminology made use of
statistical data such as population, age, gender, occupation, religious affiliations and
social economic status and studies their influences and relationship to criminality.

MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION


environmental factors such as the kind of rearing or family upbringing, quality of teaching in
school, influences of peers and friends, conditions of the neighborhood, and economic and
other societal factors are believed to be contributory to crime and criminal behavior.
1. SOCIAL STRUCTURE THEORIES
refers not only to the physical features of the communities but also to the way society is
organized.
- include such things as level of poverty and unemployment and the amount of crowded
housing which are believed to affect behavior and attitudes of individuals which in turn
contribute to their commission of crimes.
- also called social environment
- includes social disorganization theory, strain theory and cultural deviance theory.

a. Social Disorganization Theory


 popularized by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay.
 according to this theory, crimes in urban areas are more prevalent because residents have
impersonal relationships with each other.
 increase in the number of broken families and single parenthood are also very common in
disorganized communities.
 another feature of disorganized community is poverty as evidenced by poor living
conditions such as rundown houses, unsanitary and unsightly streets and high
unemployment rates.
b. Strain Theory
 strain refers the individual’s frustration, anger and resentment.
 holds that crime is a function of the conflict between the goals people have and the means
they can use to legally obtain them. This also argues that the ability to obtain these goals is
class dependent; members of the lower class are unable to achieve these goals which come
easily to those belonging to the upper class. Consequently, they feel anger, frustration and
resentment, referred to as STRAIN.
c. Cultural Deviance Theory - gives emphasis on the concept of culture and sub-culture. -
according to this theory, because people in the lower class feel isolated due to extreme
deprivation or poverty, they tend to create a sub-culture with its own set of rules and
values. This is characterized by deviant behavior which results in criminal behavior among
its members.
2. SOCIAL PROCESS THEORY - refers to a group of theories which point to the individual’s
socialization process as the cause for the commission of crimes. These theories cite
interaction with people and experiences and exposure to different element in the
environment as primary factors to criminality. - under this theory is the social learning
theory which in turn has three (3) sub-theories: differential association theory, differential
reinforcement theory and neutralization theory.
a. Differential Association Theory - formulated by Edwin Sutherland - this theory states
that criminal behavior is learned through socialization. - criminal behavior is learned in
interaction with other persons in a process of communication.
b. Differential Reinforcement Theory - according to this theory, individual’s behavior
depends on how people around him react toward s his behavior. - an act that is rewarded is
repeated; an act that is punished will be avoided. c. Neutralization Theory
 introduced by David Matza and Gresham Sykes. - sometimes referred to as “ drift theory”
 according to this theory, people know when they are doing something wrong, however,
they rationalize and justify their actions. This rationalizing is what we
called “neutralization ”.
3. SOCIAL REACTION THEORY - more commonly called labeling theory. - it states that
people become criminals when significant members of society label them as such and they
accept those labels as a personal identity.
4. SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES - maintain that everyone has the potential to become
criminal but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. - social control refers to
the agencies of social control such as family, school, religion or church, government and
laws and other identified authorities in society. - there are two (2) sub-
theories: containment t

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